​The Village of Glenview, IL streets contain over 1,800 street lights and taking care of them is a daunting task even in the best of circumstances. By leveraging the village’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) department, the Public Works department was able to put in place a procedure to more rapidly and accurately collect data about their own lighting network to assist with asset management activities.

By utilizing an application called ArcGIS Online Collector, the GIS and Public Works staff were able to collaborate and design a process that is simple to use in the field, easy to learn, and function in all types of conditions. The Collector application is able to run on both Android and Apple tablets and smartphones, providing additional flexibility to staff with how and when they could collect the necessary information in the field.

In addition to tracking the physical location of the light infrastructure in the village, this application also allows village staff to track issues with certain lights, repair history, and parts needed to fix parts of the network. In addition to collecting information about a particular light, the application also allows for the capture of photographs of the lights that can be uploaded instantaneously to a server environment. Is allows staff back in the office to review the data collection as needed without having to travel into the field to do so. All of this data is easily accessible through an online interface and is available for download and implementation into a work order tracking spreadsheet.

By utilizing this mobile technology, the Village of Glenview is able to have a more accurate picture of their assets in the field. This provides both staff in the office and staff in the field a centralized environment to access and modify asset information, thereby saving time on duplicated work efforts and money on staff time spent looking for the most current information.